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The North Carolina Folk Festival is a nonprofit organization that honors, celebrates, and shares the meaningful ways communities express their creativity and cultural traditions through music, dance, food, crafts and other folk arts to enhance appreciation of diverse traditions and contribute to community vibrancy and inclusivity.
Our signature annual event, the NC Folk Fest, takes place each September and features more than 300 artists on multiple stages with continuous performances. The Festival attracts huge crowds of people to downtown Greensboro for a three-day celebration of cultural heritage through music, dance, handmade crafts, food, and family fun! As one of the fastest growing FREE festivals in the Southeast, the NC Folk Fest features an exciting new lineup of global artists, American roots performers, and North Carolina flavors every year!
On May 10, the North Carolina Folk Festival and JM International announced that Ethno USA, the global musical exchange program for young musicians will be coming to Greensboro during the 2023 NC Folk Fest!
Through the annual Not Your Average Folk Contest we aim to highlight the unique and innovative ways NC-based artists are conceptualizing and tying “folk music” into contemporary musical practice.
Each year we invite musicians based in North Carolina to apply to the contest for an opportunity to win prizes – including an on-stage performance at the NC Folk Fest!
Applications for the 2023 Not Your Average Folk Contest are open NOW!
The annual NC Folk Fest is a three-day, free-admission, multi-stage outdoor festival and celebration of folk and traditional music, crafts, foods, and more!
An Annual NC Folk Fest Tradition – Each year our Songs of Hope & Justice concert features a unique lineup of several of North Carolina’s preeminent singers and songwriters who carry their individual musical styles into a performance on themes of freedom and social justice – unifying their voices on stage through a common spirit and purpose.
The North Carolina Folk Festival is produced in partnership with the City of Greensboro.
The North Carolina Folk Festival is a nonprofit resident organization of the Greensboro Cultural Center, made possible by a significant in-kind contribution from Creative Greensboro, the City of Greensboro’s office for arts & culture.
The North Carolina Folk Festival is supported in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Support of the North Carolina Folk Festival is made available through The Arts Council of Greater Greensboro New Creative Investment Initiative, with Guilford County and North Carolina Arts Council American Rescue Plan Act funding.
The North Carolina Folk Festival is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
